Random images and thoughts from a misplaced Minnesota Diva trying to survive in Wisconsin.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Gay Marriage or Civil Union?

Do I believe in gay marriage? Well, I guess I would first have to determine if I believe in marriage at all.

And, well, then I would need a definition of marriage.

Do I believe that two people should be able to stand in front of a crowd and say "This is my wife" or "This is my husband" and not get bashed for it? Yes, I do.

Does standing in front of a minister or in front of a justice of the peace make that feeling any stronger or any less sentimental? No. The feeling is the same whether you get married in a church or in a park.

Does it affect me in any way if the man across the street is married to a woman? No.

Does the fact that the man across the street is married to another man make any difference in my life? No.

I don't understand all the fuss about gay marriage. Some say marriage is what happens in a church and a civil union happens in a court house. Huh?

So, since I did not get married by a preacher, I am only united civilly and not married? Gee...coulda fooled me!

Just as each person should decide their own future, each church should decide who they want to allow to get married. Why should a specific group tell everyone how they should act?

And this goes both ways. Gays should not tell all churches they have to allow them to get married, but conservatives should not tell all churches who they can and cannot marry within the confines of their own church.

My personal sexual preference is no one's business but my own. But I will proudly stand next to anyone that is being persecuted and tell other people to piss off.

2 Comments:

Speaking as a lesbian, I want the legal right to marry another woman and have the same legal protections a marriage license provides. Yes, there are ways to get some of the protections through other means (power of attorney for one), but even with those protections, not all states in the US will recognize the protections (i.e. Pennsylvania & Florida). I know too many people that have been denied the right to be with a dying loved one without the biological family giving their permission first.

I feel that each individual church should be able to decide whether or not they will perform "gay" marriages.

So my question is this: Doesn't a civil union give the same rights as marriage without taking away from what marriage has meant for thousands of years? Shouldn’t it be up to that state and its voters to decide what they should allow? I have no problem with civil unions. They should have the same accesses as a married person, just without the name. What I have a problem with is the intolerance from the gay community. They demand that we tolerate their beliefs, but have no regard for ours, yet we are the hateful and intolerant ones.